Hickson 88 is a
cluster of four faint spiral galaxies in Aquarius which lie within
an 10' field. The brightest galaxies are NGC 6977 (13.9 magnitude)
and NGC 6978 (14.0). The bright cores of these galaxies may be
visible in apertures as small as eight inches from very dark
locations. The other two galaxies are somewhat fainter. NGC
6976 is 14.5 magnitude and NGC 6975 is 15.5. The latter can be a
challenge even in large aperture instruments.
In my 18-inch f/4.5
Dob NGC 6976 and NGC 6977 were the most apparent. They appeared as
small, faint elongated blobs with very indistinct edges. NGC 6975
proved to be the most difficult, revealing itself with averted
vision and higher magnification.
NGC 6977 is a
face-on barred spiral which subtends 1.3' x 0.9'. NGC 6978 is a
nearly face-on spiral of about the same size. NGC 6976 is another
face-on spiral that is a bit smaller. The final member is NGC 6975,
which is the lone edge-on spiral. It subtends 1.1' x 0.2'.
The view in an 18" telescope at 260x. North
is down and East is right.
This image is from the Digital Sky Survey
generated with SkyView.
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